When Chang Barrero arrived in Boynton Beach in 2011, he went to the art district at 401 West Industrial Avenue seeking studio space. At the time, the site was overgrown and had been used to depose of old refrigerators.

Working with the property owner, Chang Barrero cleaned up the site and set up his studio. The city gave him permission to paint murals on the industrial building, including on the metal gates. In addition to curated works, the art district invites children from across the state to paint murals.

Then, he started a monthly artwalk festival with bands, food trucks and vendors. Now, many other artists and creative entrepreneurs inhabit the repurposed warehouse bays.

10-hour open mic a response to Trump budget plan

President Donald Trump has put forth a proposed budget that calls for the elimination of funding for the National Endowment of the Arts and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

Other cuts would affect the departments of Education and Agriculture and Environmental Protection Agency programs, among many others.

Artist Rolando Chang Barrero, who runs the ActivistArtistA Gallery in Boynton Beach and the Box Gallery in West Palm Beach, and his fellow artists are reacting to proposed budget cuts to the National Endowment for the Arts.

Forty people will get their turn at the microphone for 15 minutes each from noon to 10 p.m. April 16 at ActivistArtistA, 422 W. Industrial Ave. Email BoyntonBeachArtDistrict@gmail.com to reserve a spot.

A companion exhibit, “Lest We Forget,” remembers the Holocaust and the results of what happens when government separates people by religion and/or nationality, Barrero said.

“The ideas for these shows came about as a direct result of the current political climate and Trump’s policies,” he said.

Locally, social service agencies are concerned about what these cuts mean for residents, especially the most vulnerable.

Sunday, April 16 between 12 - 10 PM at the Boynton Beach Art District, located at 410 West Industrial Ave., Boynton Beach, Florida 33426, for a series of conversations about The First Amendment and key social programs that are at risk of defunding by the current administration.

If one, or more, of the organizations, or programs that you support are at risk we invite to

join us and sound out loud!

Please contact us asap if you would like to participate at BoyntonBeachArtDistrict@gmail.com

The objective is to allow individuals to speak from the heart about their concerns before

the three government funded programs that allow many, if not all, of our programs and projects to

be share with the public ends with this administration, hence silencing our voices and

our access to the public.

The most striking turn of events brought about by the new administration are their efforts to

circumvent the democratic process. President Trump, his advisors and cabinet

appointments are pushing hard to reinterpret the constitution and limit individual freedoms.

Donald Trump and his current administration has made it clear that the following vital programs will be defunded and terminated:

1. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting is an American non-profit corporation created by

an act of the United States Congress and funded by the United States federal government

to promote and help support public broadcasting.

Founder: Lyndon B. Johnson

Founded: November 7, 1967, United States of America

Headquarters: Washington, D.C.

2. The National Endowment for the Arts is an independent agency of the United States

federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic

excellence.

Founder: Lyndon B. Johnson

Founded: 1965

Headquarters: Washington, D.C.

3. The National Endowment for the Humanities is an independent federal agency of the U.S.

government, established by the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of

1965,

Founded: September 29, 1965

Headquarters: Washington, D.C.

Now, more than ever, it is crucial for the public to understanding the Bill of Rights and how

it insures those freedoms.

The Bill of Rights:

“The first 10 amendments to the Constitution make up the Bill of Rights. Written by James

Madison in response to calls from several states for greater constitutional protection for

"I have an insatiable desire to leave a legacy defined by what can be done—what is possible in the arts. I’m committed to the advancement of the arts in all areas. I want to enroll people in a vision full of possibilities.”

To call Rolando Chang Barrero just “an artist” is an understatement. He is an outspoken activist for the South Florida arts scene, especially in Palm Beach County, where he has resided for the past several years.

“It’s pretty safe to say that millions of people have enjoyed the rich art and cultural diversity of South Florida. Guests and tourists have flocked to South Florida way before the grand opening of Art Basel in 2002 and even prior to the South Florida Art Center on Lincoln Road in 1984,” said the former Miami Beach resident. “In Palm Beach specifically, within the last six years we have witnessed an incredible maturity in both the public and private sectors of the art scene. From the city of Delray Beach to the city West Palm Beach it is more than apparent that the public art administrators and the area’s artists are working together to create many of our nation’s most syncretic art and cultural initiatives.”

“I believe that artists make a living proportionally to their drive, circumstances, and vision. Like doctors, lawyers, and other professionals…some artists navigate life better than others,” he explained.

Artist Rolando Chang Barrero, who runs the ActivistArtistA Gallery in Boynton Beach and the Box Gallery in West Palm Beach, and his fellow artists are reacting to proposed budget cuts to the National Endowment for the Arts.
For his upcoming KeroWACKED Show at the Boynton Beach Arts District, Barrero said he is organizing "Sound Out Loud," a 10-hour open-mic event for people to express their First Amendment rights "as if they might not have this opportunity again."
Forty people will get their turn at the microphone for 15 minutes each from noon to 10 p.m. April 16 at ActivistArtistA, 422 W. Industrial Ave. Email BoyntonBeachArtDistrict@gmail.com to reserve a spot.
A companion exhibit, "Lest We Forget," remembers the Holocaust and the results of what happens when government separates people by religion and/or nationality, Barrero said.
"The ideas for these shows came about as a direct result of the current political climate and Trump's policies," he said. Continue to full story.

Gliding into its second year, Art Boca Raton has found a groove, mixing the high-end blue chip art of Picasso and Chagall with the best of the regional art and artists like Cheryl Maeder and Rolando Chang Barrero. Continue Reading....Subscribe to our mailing list

The #LestWeForgetProject is a series of images of people concerned that similarities between the current political climete and those of the past. If you would like to participate contact ActivistArtistA@gmail.com

All participant we invited to choose one or more colored triangles that they felt represented themselves or, a class of people that they were concerned about.

"I am Jewish so I chose the yellow triangle, seeing more and more antisemitism across Europe and even the United States is disheartening, and I think things like this project will shine a light not only on the holocaust, but also help people remember what happened and could definitely happen again. I absolutely love the work you are doing, and that's why I participated!"

I participated in this project because bullies, racists, xenophobes, and haters of every category believe we in opposition will not fight back. As usual, they are wrong. I chose to wear the red triangle which political prisoners were forced to wear in the Nazi concentration camps. I am in awe of the people who were marked this way. Against all odds, they fearlessly opposed government implemented policies that demonized and denigrated human beings, a government that promoted aggressive nationalism over international cooperation, and, a government that dreamt of world domination through force. Sound familiar? Oppose. Resist. No pasaran. - Guy Icangelo​I

The #LestWeForgetProject is a series of images of people concerned that similarities between the current political climete and those of the past. If you would like to participate contact ActivistArtistA@gmail.com

All participant we invited to choose one or more colored triangles that they felt represented themselves or, a class of people that they were concerned about.

present works representing a variety of media, methods, and visual approaches.

All artists are presently working and contributing to the vital and diverse

South Florida art scene.

Palm Beach Gardens—Rolando Chang Barrero will be exhibiting the first installment of US Heroes: Fidel Castro, Che Guevara, Raul Castro a series of paintings which concentrates on the three mass murderers of the Cuban revolution. The challenges and questions the slogans that are used to support their assent to hero status in the United States. This series explores the phenomena of idolatry and “hero creation” in the United States by the media and American t-shirt industry. This industry creates human billboards which inadvertently rationalizes human suffering (e.g. the mass murders and executions by Fidel Castro, Che Guevara, and Raul Castro).

"I refer to all of my individual works as “pages from the journal of my life,” a vast documentary of experiences, thoughts, commentaries, and such. Thus, as pages of any personal journal-- some entries are unfinished drafts for a larger essay, some are very personal notes, and others are reactions to events and situations. When a secret is shared, it ceases to be a secret A thought written will at some point be a thought read. I paint for those that prefer to read painting, I make film for those that prefer to read film, I take photographs for those that prefer to read an image [be it black and white, or color].

My current journal entries are a series of interrogatives presented in three levels.

Level one, questions the political slogans associated with the subject simply by changing the exclamation point to a question mark.

Level two, the title of the series “ U.S. Heroes” purposely challenges the viewer into a conversation about his or her interpretation of patriotism and heroism.

Level three, allows the viewer to embrace or deflect the importance and impact of how we consume and later share our beliefs , credos, stances, and/or lifestyles via tee shirts, bumper stickers, and more recent within 144 allowable characters on twitter.”